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Message: <blockquote data-quote="dwatsonbirder" data-source="post: 2816643" data-attributes="member: 92203">22/06/13San Jose to Tortuguero, Costa RicaAn early morning stroll around Parque Central added Boat billed flycatcher to the list, but a brief woodpecker and a swift species couldn’t be assigned to species level. The main aim of our first full day in Costa Rica was to leave the bustle of San Jose behind and head to Tortuguero on the Caribbean coast. The first order of the day was to survive the manic driving skills employed in San Jose, with taxi’s, buses, cars, motorbikes, scooters, pushbikes and dogs all using every inch of the road surface, our taxi (a 25+ year old Toyota complete with a unique rope operated boot closing system) weaved around the various obstacles at break-neck speed, and deposited us at the Grand Caribe bus station. Here we said goodbye to our luggage and climbed aboard a bus. At this point I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed to find a new luxury coach with air con and toilet, as I was hoping for a painted ex- USA school bus. The journey took us through our first glimpses of primary rainforest, and along the way we saw Northern rough-winged swallow, Ruddy ground dove, Variable seedeater, Northern Jancana, Passerini’s tanager and the now ubiquitousTropical kingbirds and Great kissadees.We boarded the Lanchaat La Pavona, and set off on our two hour voyage down the river through thick rainforest to Tortuguero. Our first notable sighting was of American crocodile, but avian highlights were Broad billed ani, Amazon kingfisher, Great blue heron, Green heron, Anhinga, Montezuma oropendola, Bare throated tiger heron, Ringed kingfisher and Chestnut mandibled toucan which all suddenly hit home that we were a long way from Europe! Entering the village of Tortuguero we encountered many tour guides offering their services, but we decided that we would unload our belongings first then decide on a guide. A wander around the village produced the first two species of hummingbird – Blue throatedGoldentailand the soon to become regular Rufous tailed hummingbird, both of which showed very well. We decided to go with Kulchus Tours and arranged a three part all day tour for $50 each for the next day. A few more species were added around the hotel before we turned in for an early night including Red billed pigeon, Red lored parrot, Great and Snowy egrets but the most interesting species was a Fork tailed flycatcher which according to my guide was either a range restricted resident or a passage migrant. Either way it wasn’t meant to be in this area at this time of the year, so I imagine it would either be a late migrant or a non-breeding bird. Interestingly this species was also noted at Puerto Viejo two weeks later on the 9/7, is it possible that a small number of non-breeding birds choose to summer in the Caribbean?23/06/13Tortuguero, Costa RicaWe were up at the crack of dawn again today, ready for our early morning river cruise. There were to be many highlights today, and not all of them were avian. Our first stop was to watch Howler monkeys as they fed (and howled) from some trees on the edge of the village. Next up was Tamanduaor Collared anteater, which was climbing about 15 metres up a giant tree, I must admit I found this somewhat odd as I had always imagined anteaters to be terrestrial rather than arboreal, but our guide pointed out the 3m termite nest that the anteater was obliterating. This was a rare sight indeed, and represented the only anteater of the trip. A few birds were up next, with Great egret, Common tody flycatcher, Northern Jancana, Green ibis and Green kingfisher all seen in a small area nearby. The first real standout bird of the day was a stunning Keel billed toucan, which showed extremely well as it fed on palm nuts. Continuing further downstream we saw Green iguana, Emerald basilisk and Caiman. The latter was seen lurking in bankside vegetation, and allowed a close approach giving us the perfect opportunity to appreciate its beautiful paternation and to take some closeup shots. As we admired the handsome reptile, I noticed a small bird easing along the edge of the opposet bank – a Sungrebe. This was one species I had hoped to see, and a closer look proved we were in even more luck, as on its back was a chick! Other birds encountered included our first Bare throated and RufescentTiger herons, Laughing falcon, Long billed hermit and a stunning Collard acari which practically exploded out of the rainforest like a feathered firework. Further mammal sightings included our first Three toed sloth and White faced capuchins.Back again on dry land we added Grey crowned yellowthroat, House wren and Streak headed woodcreeperto the ever growing list. A walk down onto the beach to have lunch provided a preview of what we hoped to observe the following day, as some twenty or so Green turtle bided their time offshore waiting for the cover of darkness before coming onshore to lay their eggs. Whilst watching these Brown pelican and Magnificent frigatebird were noted.Another trip in the afternoon took us to observe Poison dart frogs, with Red poison arrow and Green and black frogs present. Also we saw a fresh footprint of Jaguar, which was approximately 12cm across, sadly (though not unexpectedly) we didn’t see the prints owner, but it was great to know that this top predator was still present and that the ecosystem was fully functional.A few more species were notched up before we retired – Tropical peewee,  Black headed tody-flycatcher, Pale vented pigeon, Bananaquitand Palm tanager.24/06/13Tortuguero, Costa RicaToday was spent wandering around the village in a fairly relaxed manner. We browsed the craftwork shops and enjoyed a lunch of rice and beans, which at this point in the trip, was still something of a novelty. Something that we noted later after visiting both Panama and Nicaragua was the cost of goods in local shops and supermarkets. The cost of everyday items was equal to those back in the UK, and in a country where a good hourly wage is $3, it quickly became apparent why rice and beans - or casadoas it is more exotically named – is a staple of Central American food. Anyways, back to the birds.New birds today included Golden hooded tanager, Royal tern, and Yellow crowned night heron. The main event today however was to be our night walk to see the Green turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs. We met our guide just after 9pm, and walked the 1.5km from the village towards the area where the turtles were coming ashore. Our guide then received word that a turtle was currently in the process of laying her eggs not too far away, but if we hurried we may just make it in time to see her covering the eggs before returning into the Caribbean. We rushed off silently parallel to the beach, and our guide disappeared into the bushes. He returned a few moments later and ushered us onto the beach.Illuminated in the moonlight was a 2m turtle with her back to us. Steadying herself with her front flippers, she used the rear flippers to push the sand she had cast aside earlier back into the hole, covering the eggs. We stood mesmerised by this sight, as this is something that neither of us had expected to see. She worked quickly, and after smoothing the area over as to camouflage the nest, she spun her bulk around and headed slowly back towards the sea.What followed next was something that will stay with me forever, but first we had to endure a 3 hour wait in complete silence before we could see the finale.Kathi had just about fallen asleep when our guide’s walkie-talkie crackled and something incomprehensible in Spanish rasped out of the speaker. Our guide signalled to us as we were off into the darkness yet again. We again walked out onto the beach, but this time our guide motioned us to keep a distance until he signalled us over. We could just about make out a dark flat shadow on the edge of the strandline, more obvious though was the sight of sand being tossed into the air. After some 5 minutes we were summoned over.When laying eggs, female turtles go into a state of trance. I hadn’t thought about the mechanics behind this process until now but I understand why they do so. Thousands of years of evolution have made turtles a highly specialised marine species, but an evolutionary throwback of their ancestry is that they must return to land to lay their eggs. A creature that can grow to the same size and weight of a Ford Fiesta, and spends 99% of its life in the ocean undertakes a huge burden to return to land. Flippers, incredibly efficient in the ocean, become an inconvenient appendage on land offering little in the way of grip. Being a large animal may offer a degree of protection in the water, but on land all of that bulk weighs down on vital organs. The stresses involved in the reproductive cycle of sea turtles are overwhelming. A state of trance must be something similar to a huge dose of diamorphine, allowing the animal to forget all of these factors and to concentrate on laying eggs.As a result of all of the above, absolute silence is observed, and only a single red filtered torch can be used when observing them. The merest hint of unnatural noise or light can cause the turtle to become distressed and abandon the cycle, returning to the sea for another 4-6 years before attempting again. Here on the beach was a miracle of evolution, a creature with lineage as old as the dinosaurs, which could live to be over 200 years. When in a state of trance, the female’s hind flippers can be parted and our guide carefully did just this. We could see beautiful ivory coloured eggs the size of a golf ball dropping into the nest. It would be fair to say that all present were awestruck and humbled to be able to witness this event, and I am sure that the level of emotion on the beach meant there was not a dry eye in sight. After 20 minutes or so, the female suddenly “came-round” and juddered, then began to backfill her nest, before returning to the sea. This was one of the standout moments of the trip, and an experience I will never forget.25/06/13Tortuguero to Moin, Costa RicaToday was our last day in Tortuguero, and we left on the 10am boat for Moin. We were heading south to spend two weeks at Costa Rica Wildlife Sanctuary, where we would be working on both a rehabilitation and a sea turtle reintroduction project. The boat journey there produced more birds though, with Collared swift, Amazon kingfisher, Green and Tricoloured heron’s, Mangrove swallow, Turnstone, Grey plover and a further two Fork tailed flycatchers. As we waited in a tremendously heavy downpour in Moin docks, a Common paraquesuddenly appeared and flew into a tree above us, a strange site at midday!Arriving at Costa Rica Wildlife Sanctuary we were greeted with rain and “Elvis” – a captive two toed sloth who had been confiscated from some poachers and who sadly couldn’t be returned to the wild. We were to be based at the lodge for the next two weeks, and in that time I was able to add many birds typical of the Caribbean lowlands to the list. With just a couple of hours of daylight left we had to make sure that we had unpacked and fed the animals, by this time the rain had stopped and the clouds had lifted. With just 45 minutes of daylight remaining I clocked up an impressive list of species: Black cheeked andRufous winged woodpeckers, Passerini’s, Golden hooded and Palm tanagers, Bronzed cowbird, Black striped sparrow, Long billed hermit, House wren, Ruddy ground dove, Grey capped flycatcher, Squirrel cuckoo, Orange chinned parrot, Black headed saltator, Black cowled oriole, White throated manakinand Common and Lesser nighthawks. Phew! This was high octane stuff, and a fantastic diversity of species for such a short time period.</blockquote>

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